Article carrying and supporting device



April 8; 1958 w. H. WHEELER ETAL 2,829,853

ARTICLE CARRYING AND SUPPORTING DEVICE Filed Dec. 17, 1952 INVENTORS WILLIHM H. WHEELER ANN L. .JHCOBSEN ATTORNEY Unitid t t P t r 2,829,853 ARTICLE CARRYING AND surronrnso DEVICE William H. Wheeler; NewYorkQand Ann L. .Iacobsen; Poughquag, N. Y.

Application De'cember' fl, 1952; set-in No. 326,448 2 cisniis'. cl: Mar-146 This invention relates -to article carrying" and supporting devices and particularly to sling typ'e devices'adapted for carryingarticlesin a confined or bundled arrange-'} ment and su pbningme same in an accessible extended arrangement.

In 'supportingarticles', such for example as the fire-- place logs in extended accessible position, it has been customary to. employbask'ets of various types and kinds. In general, however, these baskets are bulky and awkward to carry about and hence are'seldom used for carrying logsor similar articles from one'place to another. 'Sling devices are available for carrying such articles, but'the use of such sling devices is also frequently inconvenient; since'articles must be first 'arrangedthereon at the' point of pick-up and removed therefrom and transferred to "a basket for other support at me' point of deliveryl V An obje'ctof ourinvemionfis 'to provide "a unitary device which c'an'be employed'as "2'." carrier for logs'or other articles in bundled arrangement and which in conjunction with a cooperating base providesan open sling or basket for' supporting logs-or other articles in extended accessible arrangement. A further object is to PIOVldQ'mflHS including hand-grip portions in spaced relation to the base engaging means facilitating quick and easyas semblage of thejdevice and supporting base-in switchingfrom thearticle carrying to thearticle supportinguse n d e- These-and other objects of the invention will-be more fully appa rnt from a consideration of the following description taken togethi' w ith"theaccompanying drawing-illustrating one form o f the device-in accordance with our invention in which the various parts thereof have been identified by suitable reference characters in each of the views and in which:

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of one form of article carrying and supporting device diagrammatically indicating the arrangement of artcles in the sling portion thereof;

Fig. 2 is an end elevation view of the device as shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the sling portion of the device as shown in Fig. 1 in the fully extended or flat position;

Fig. 4 is a partial sectional view substantially on the line 44 of Fig. l with the hand-grip portion of the sling member in extended or lifted position; and

Fig. 5 is a partial sectional view substantially on the line 55 as shown in Fig. 4.

In Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawing, we have indicated one form of our article carrying and supporting device as comprising a base member having at opposed ends thereof upwardly extending arms or supports 11 having at the upper ends thereof suitable means as indicated by the transverse notches 12 for detachably engaging hanger elements 13 of an article engaging sling 14. The portion 15 of the sling 14 between the hanger elements 13 is of a flexible or semi-flexible nature to permit conformance of the sling to the contour of logs or other articles 16 arranged therein both when the hanger elements are arranged on said base and when these hanger elements are brought into juxtaposition for carrying purposes; In spaced relation to thehanger elements 13 and outwardly thereof in respect to the flexible portion 15 of the sling are hand-grips 17 which have been indicated in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawing as joining the hanger elements 13 through flexible strands 18. While the use of flexible strands in this manner permits the hand-grips 17 to hang in an out-of-away position when not in use, it is within the scope of our invention to have the hand-grips rigidly jon'ed to or integral with the'hanger elements 13.- In

suchevent, the hand-grips might extend above the hanger elements'p'er se and provide an ornamental'eifect in them assembled device.

The base 10 can be fashioned in any desired manner to provide the upwardly extending arms. 11 at opposed end portions of a base or spacer element 19 having suificient width to provide'a substantial base support for the device which'is resistant 'to lateral tipping. The base unit 10 can be fashioned from any suitable'materials, such as metal, wood, plastics and the like and can be of permanently assembled construction or detachable construction facilitating compact arrangement for shipping and storage.

secured at the lower ends thereof to opposed edges ofthe spacer or base element 19. In the construction shown in Figs. 1 and 2, this coupling has been indicated aseffected-by means of screws 20'passing through-the members 11a' and 11b and into the spacing or base ele- T.

ment 19. With this construction upwardly extending arms 11 can readily be detached for storage or shipment by removal of the screws 20.

The sling 14' can be fashioned from any suitable flexible or flexibly assembled materials. Thus for example, the. sling 14 intermediately the hanger elements 13 can -com-" prise a unitary sheet of fabric, plastic, woven chain or other flexible sheet material, or can .be' built up of ma-' terials which provide flexurein a longitudinal direction While being relatively rigid in a transverse direction.

Thlength or the sling between the-hanger elements should be suflicient to permit at least slight'con'tact-be tween thebottom of the sling and -the-spac'e'r or base elen ient19as'seerfinFigs. 1 and For purpose of illustration we have shown in Figs. 3 and 4 of the drawings one form of built-up construction wherein the flexible strands 18 extend through the full length of the sling 14 i. e. from one hand-grip 17 to the other and wherein a plurality of transverse slat members 21 are provided intermediate the two hanger elements 13 and secured to the flexible strands 18. The slats 21 which may be fashioned from wood, metal, plastics and the like, are provided with suitable retaining means, such for example, as the pairs of spaced apertures 22 for positioning the same with respect to the flexible strands. In assembling the slats 21 and strands 18, the strands are preferably arranged essentially beneath or below the slats and passed upwardly through one aperture and downwardly through the other aperture in aligned pairs of apertures 22 in the slats 21 as well as in the hanger elements 13. In the hand-grips 17 the strands 18 are preferably passed through bores 23 and then knotted as indicated at 24 to provide a bearing engagement with the end 25 of said hand-grip.

A number of slats 21 in the center portion of the sling 14 are assembled in the manner described in closely adjacent or abutting relationship as seen at 26 in Fig. 3, so as to prevent substantial escape of small particles through the bottom of the sling, this portion being approximately one-fourth to one-third the length of the Patented Apr. s, .1958.

sling intermediate the hanger elements 13. In portions 27 of the sling 14 adjacent the central portion 26, the

slats 21 are arranged in slightly spaced relationship and as they progressively approach the hanger elements 13, the spacing between the slats is increased since in this region the slats are not required to support the load, but merely to maintain the shape of the device by properly spacing the strands 18 thereof.

In Figs. 4 and 5 of the drawing we have included detailed illustrations of the cooperating structure of the notches 12 and hanger elements 13. It will be noted in this. connection that each hanger element is provided centrally of the inner edge thereof with a cut-out or notch 28 which is slightly greater in length than the thickness of the arm 11 at the base of the transverse notch 12 therein. It should also be noted that the notch 12 is substantially greater in width than the thickness of the hanger 13, note Fig. 5. This facilitates easy insertion of the hanger element 13 into the notch 12 even when the hanger element 13 may be thrown into a slightly angular position by tension in the strands 18 under the influence of the weight of the logs or articles 16 arranged in the sling. The cooperative engagement between the notches 12 and 28 serves to properly position and balance the sling in suspended position on the base unit '10, both when the sling is empty and when articles are arranged thereon in the manner indicated.

The strands 18 may be of any suitableflexible material, such as woven fiber, flexible wire or chain material, strips of leather or rawhide, and the like. When materials such as rawhide or certain woven'or braided' fibers are employed in the strands 18, a certain amount of stretching may occur after extensive use, but it .will

be noted that any such stretching can be compensated for, if desired, by moving the slats 21, hanger elements 13 and hand-grips 17 with respect to the strands and suitably adjusting the knots or other retainingm'eans 24 at the ends of the strands. On the other hand, quick adjustment of the length of the sling between the hanger elements 13 can be efiected by moving one, or both, of the hanger elements along the strands 18.

Various changes and modifications in the article carrying and supporting device herein disclosed will occur to those skilled in the art and, to the extent that such changes and modifications fall within the scope of the appended claims, it is to be understood that they constitute part of our invention.

We claim:

1. In a combination article carrying and supporting device embodying a base having upstanding spaced support members and a flexible sling unit adapted for detachable mounting on said base, the improved structure facilitating orientation of the loaded sling on said base that comprises hand grip members at the opposed ends of said sling, transverse mounting members at opposed end portions of said sling inwardly of and closely adjacent said hand grip members, positioning notches centrally of said transverse members in edges thereof remote from said hand grip members, notches in the upper ends of the spaced support members of said base extending transversely of said base and being of a width slightly greater than the thickness of said transverse mounting members, the length of said positioning notches being slightly greater than the transverse thickness of said spaced support members at the base of the notches therein, and the notches in said spaced support members being disposed substantially vertically, whereby the. loaded sling can be mounted on said base by lowering the same between the supports of said base until said notches have been interengaged and then releasing the hand grip members.

2. In a combination article carrying and supporting device as defined in claim 1, the further improved structure that comprises a sling unit made up of a plurality of flexible strands in spaced groups along opposed side portions of said sling and a plurality of transverse slats secured to said flexible strands, said slats being in juxtaposition centrally of said sling and being spaced apart by progressively wider intervals toward the ends of said sling, and the spacing between the transverse mounting member and adjacent slat at each end of said sling being sufiicient to provide clearance between said last named slats and the support members of said base as the loaded sling is lowered for mounting engagement with said base.

' References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

